Just A Game
by DreyIsDivergent
Summary: Katniss moves back to District Twelve to see her best friend Gale after six years! She thinks she's falling for Gale, until a new boy enters her life.
1. Chapter 1

** I don't mean for this to be smooshed together. I'm trying. **

_In point three miles, turn right,_ said the robotic voice of the GPS.

"Mom," the brunette in the passenger seat groaned, "how much longer?"

"Patience, Katniss," Mrs. Everdeen said. "I'm driving."

In the backseat, Primrose flipped through _Tiger Beat_. "Ehmagod!" she squealed in her annoying-middle-schooler accent, which made the end of every sentence go up like a question. "They're, like, splitting the last book in the _Treaty of Treason_ series into TWO MOVIES!" Her cat, buttercup, snored.

"That's great, Prim," their mom said wearily.

"And Claudius Templesmith is getting the role of that one guy."

"The announcer?" Katniss asked.

"Yeah, thanks Kat," Prim squealed, flipping the page.

Just then, Katniss' phone vibrated. She scanned the screen. "Gale can't wait to see us, and Hazelle insists on having us for dinner, so that's one less thing to worry about."

Mrs. Everdeen patted Katniss' shoulder. "I bet you're excited to see him. It's been… what? Six years?"

Katniss nodded. "Hands on the wheel mom," she joked. "And yeah, I was ten when we moved, and now I'm sixteen."

Mrs. Everdeen seemed to go off into her own thoughts for a moment. "Hazelle and I have so much catching up to do," she murmured. "Six years…"

"I can't wait to see Gale again!" Katniss exclaimed, thinking of her best friend and neighbor back in District Twelve.

Only Prim isn't excited. She hardly remembers District Twelve, and everything was such a blur to her after her father died.

"I'm gonna miss Rayne and Ashen," she said, thinking of her best friends in District Seven.

Katniss nodded and stared out the window, and they rode in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Mrs. Everdeen pulled into the asphalt driveway. "This is it, Girls," she said excitedly.

"I still can't believe our old house was availible," Katniss whispered in disbelievement. The paint was a little more chipped, and the primrose plants were dying, but it was still her home.

A tall, dark-haired figure rushed out of the house next-door. "Catnip!" he screamed.

Katniss giggled at the silly nickname. Gale couldn't pronounce her name right when they were toddlers, and the name stuck. "Gale," she screamed, running toward him.

Gale picked her up and twirled her. "I can't believe you're back!"

In a daze, she answered, "I can't either."

"Did you guys get the transition paperwork done? Can you come to school tomorrow? There's room for two more in my truck. I have to stop at all the schools anyway, so I can bring you and Prim."

"Yeah, the papers are all in order. I'd love a ride..."

As they reunited, Rory, Vick, and Posy Hawthorne walked outside, led by Hazelle. Five-Year-Old Posy and Ten-Year-Old Vick stood awkwardly, not remembering these strangers. Rory approached Prim. "So, I was thinking, I could show you around the middle school..."

Mom and Hazelle embraced too, catching up on six years of news and gossip. Everyone seemed so happy.

Nobody even noticed the blonde haired boy who was walking down their street at that moment, staring with lonely blue eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

** So review maybe…? **

Katniss, Prim, and all the Hawthorne children climbed into the truck at seven AM. It was a huge truck with a third row. In the far back, Prim and Rory giggled. They'd really "clicked" right away. Posy looked out the window and Vick scrambled to finish a reading assignment he'd procrastinated on.

"I can't believe we don't have any classes together," Katniss sighed.

"Well, we _are_ in different grades, Catnip," Gale teased. "Don't worry. I have a friend named Madge… do you remember her? Mayor's daughter? She was kinda of stuck up in elementary school. She's awesome now… Anyway, Madge has a lot of the same classes as you. I'll get her to help you around."

_Meanwhile…_

Peeta lifted the last sack of flour into the store room. "Mom, I'm done unloading! Can I go to school now?"

"Fine, go to school, you lazy bum!" she screamed from upstairs. "There's work to do, you pig. But you leave it all to your parents. Really nice. BE GONE!"

Peeta ran out the door and let tears drip down his cheeks as he walked to school. Why did he have a witch for a Mom?

_Meanwhile_

Gale pulled into a parking spot next to a little white convertible. He and Katniss hopped out of the truck, and the petite blonde owner of the convertible greeted them.

"Katniss, this is Madge…"


	4. Chapter 4

** To my reviewer, Your Nightmare, I know it's you SaraBeth! :P And the pasta was good so thanks! And I was kinda stuck but you gave me an idea so this chapter includes pasta. Haha you helped me by trying to annoy me. YOLO :P Others… review maybe? Anyway, I don't own The Hunger Games or any characters. I suppose I own Rayne and Ashen though. I really like those names… **

"Our first class is Home Ec," Madge rambled. "Ms. Trinket teaches, she's pretty cool. Just don't use bad table manners if we get to eat the food we cook. That's her pet peeve. She's _so_ prim and proper.

Katniss nodded. The girl was being nice, but a little overly-peppy.

Madge skidded to a halt in front of room 112. "Here we are! You can sit next to me, if you want," she said as she twisted the golden doorknob.

"Class, we have a new student," piped Ms. Trinket in her annoyingly high voice. "Welcome, welcome, Miss Katniss Everdeen."

Katniss smiled nervously. "Hi…" she whispered, waving awkwardly. All of the eyes in the room studied her, and a blue-eyed blonde boy seemed to be staring at her. Ignoring them all, she let Madge guide her to her seat.

For the class, Katniss was paired with Madge and a girl named Delly Cartwright to complete the assignment: making pasta. Delly flicked on the stove at their workstation while Katniss filled the pot with water. Madge really had nothing to do, so she made goo-goo eyes at a boy over in the next workstation.

Carrying the heavy, full pot from the sink to stove, Katniss stumbled. As she tripped, about three cups of water sloshed over the edge of the pot, some onto her clothes, but most onto the dark wooden counter. She muttered curses to herself and frantically searched for a towel.

"Miss Everdeen, that is _mahogany_!" scolded Miss Trinket. "Water _damages_ wood! Clean it up!" Everyone turned to see Katniss, damp and embarrassed.

"I-I… so-sor-sorry," stuttered Katniss. The new girl blushed, her olive-skinned cheeks turning pink. "I'll… clean… it." By now, everyone had gone back to their own projects. Katniss cleaned up the counter and herself while Delly and Madge finished working on the pasta. _Well, I'm making a good impression,_ Katniss thought.

A pair of blue eyes scanned the long, dark braid down Katniss' back.

The bell rang, and Madge hustled out the door with Katniss in her wake. "Okay, next you have…" her voice trailed off as she examined Katniss' schedule. "English! Me too! Come on, Mr. Abernathy has zero tolerance for tardiness." And so she ran off, pulling Katniss along for the ride.

In the hall, she bumped into a blue-eyed boy with an athletic build. He seemed familiar for some reason Katniss couldn't remember, but for some reason it sent chills down her spine. Her gray eyes locked onto his blue ones, and they held the gaze until Madge snapped her out of it with a giggly, "Come _on_ Katniss. Zero tolerance, remember?"


End file.
